''Desperado Corner'' is a play written for the stage by English playwright
Shaun Lawton. It started out as a collection of
performance poems and
monologue
In theatre, a monologue (also known as monolog in North American English) (in , from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts ...
s written and performed by Lawton in London between 1973 and 1976. It is set in the seaside town of
Redcar
Redcar is a seaside town on the Yorkshire Coast in the Redcar and Cleveland unitary authority. It is in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England, and is located east of Middlesbrough.
The Teesside built-up area's Redcar subdiv ...
in the north east of England in 1959.
It premiered at the
Citizens Theatre, in
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
, on 16 January 1981, with
Di Trevis directing. Among the cast were
Gary Oldman
Sir Gary Leonard Oldman (born 21 March 1958) is an English actor and filmmaker. Known for his versatility and intense acting style, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Gary Oldman, various accolades, including an Academ ...
,
Jim Cartwright
Jim Cartwright (born 27 June 1958) is an English dramatist, born in Municipal Borough of Farnworth, Farnworth, Lancashire. Cartwright's first play, Road (play), ''Road'', won a number of awards before being adapted for TV and broadcast by the B ...
and
Mark Rylance
Sir David Mark Rylance Waters (; born 18 January 1960) is an English actor, playwright and theatre director. He is known for his roles on stage and screen, having received numerous awards including an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Oliv ...
.
Modern British Playwriting: The 1980s: Voices, Documents, New Interpretations, p 99
/ref>
It was staged that same year at the Citizens, this time directed by Robert David MacDonald
Robert David MacDonald (27 August 1929 – 19 May 2004) was a Scottish playwright, translator and theatre director.
Early life
Robert David MacDonald was born in Elgin, in Morayshire, Scotland on 27 August 1929, the son of a doctor and a toba ...
.
That same year, 1981, there was also a production of the play by final year students at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...
at their Vanbrugh Theatre in London.
References
British plays